I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

Embroidery and Textile Photos from Rome

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I wanted to share with you some textile and embroidery photos from Rome. My sister and her husband just got back from a two-week holiday in celebration of my brother-in-law’s retirement and their 20th anniversary. Knowing my fascination with textiles and embroidery, my sister managed to take a few shots of things she thought would interest me. I think the fabric shoes take the cake!!

First, here’s a shot of some religious embroidery (there’s a lot of this in Rome, of course!). It looks to me like it is a combination of embroidery and applique. At first, I thought the colors might not be “true,” but she says they are – just faded with time. It’s a wallhanging, banner, or altar frontal – she can’t remember which. (You do tend to get saturated from the visual gluttony!)

The next is a close up on some goldwork and silk embroidery. Pretty!

Here are the shoes. They were in a shop window. I love the fabric, but I doubt they’d hold up to Midwest USA winters!

Below is another example of goldwork and silk. You can see the goldwork on the leaf on the left side of the photo, and on the far right. This type of silk embroidery is done over board or very stiff and dense felt-like wool to get the squared-off edges.

The rather long photo below is goldwork and silk again. I think the blue flower above must be taken from the same piece. The styles are exactly the same, and the fabric looks the same. Again, typical goldwork and silk combination. I think it’s a photo of a mitre in a shop window. I love the simple design and the combination of colors.

This below is a velvet tapestry, or altar frontal, or something…. it’s embroidered. It apparently hangs in a very long hallway going to the bathrooms in some museum or church. The piece is actually very large, and this is only the very end section of the photo. I like the design and the contrast on the red.

Below is another of the same, in the same hallway. This was apparently completely covered in embroidery. It’s apparently rather old and not in the best of shape, but still really beautiful. The colors are really stunning. It’s apparently a mixture of applique and embroidery, as you can see in the close up image further down.

And yet another of the same – a close up of a section of the photo above – taken from right below the piece.

Ahhhh – I love goldwork. Here’s a sample of some goldwork, in a typical ecclesiastical design.

And, lastly, another piece of goldwork, probably on the same piece as the photo above – magnificent!